Misaddressed
by icyboots
Summary: It was almost surreal given how the two of them got to know each other, simply because Angeal sent a text to the wrong number. Angeal/Cloud. Semi AU. Oneshot for Tobirion.


This is a gift fic for the lovely Tobirion (a very awesome and kind soul, really). I don't know if this is good enough, and I'm absolutely horrible at picking titles, but here goes!

* * *

**Misaddressed**

* * *

**_CODE-279CS:_ **_i'm off duty today, so i'll get the chance to go visit that diner you told me about._

Angeal smiled warmly upon reading the text on his PHS, quickly typing his reply

_**CODE-013AH:** good! i hope you'll like it._

Behind him, the 3rd class SOLDIERs he was training paused, curious about who he was texting in the middle of a training session, and normally, Angeal would've noticed it by now.

It took one of them whispering, "Do you think it's his girlfriend?" to snap him out of his daze and sternly order them to back to training, inwardly embarrassed to be caught like that.

What could he say? Cloud's simple texts had this inexplicable effect on him, getting him to smile even in the most tiring days. It was almost surreal given how the two of them got to know each other, simply because Angeal sent a text to the wrong number...

* * *

The latest mission in Wutai still plagued his thoughts, making him toss and turn to find sleep but to no avail. With a heavy sigh, he brought out his PHS, deciding to send a text to Genesis in hopes that he was awake as well. It took him a while to remember the number to Genesis's new PHS - why it was consisted of thirteen numbers was still beyond him - but he finally did and sent the text immediately.

_**CODE-013AH:** can't sleep._

He waited for a bit and perked up when he heard the ring signalling for a reply, only for his eyes to widen upon finding out that he made a mistake.

**_CODE-279CS:_ **_i think you have the wrong number, sorry._

Not knowing what to do but type a simple 'sorry', because really? What else was he supposed to do to make up for the fact that he sent to the wrong number, probably waking the receiver from their slumber?

So lost in his inner turmoil - no, really, he shouldn't be sending random texts at two in the morning - he didn't register that his PHS rang, signalling for a new text.

_**CODE-279CS:** it's alright._

_**CODE-279CS:** if it'll make you feel better..._

_**CODE-279CS:** i can't sleep myself._

Somewhat reassured, Angeal found himself asking why, to which the receiver replied with anxiousness caused by being stationed from Midgar to Junon, an unfamiliar ground. From the number alone, he concluded that the receiver worked for ShinRa, so never questioning the why's and what's, Angeal assured that Junon wasn't that bad, actually. At least there was a chance to breathe fresh air there, not a thing Midgar could easily provide.

It was only when the receiver - Cloud, as he told - said that it was time for him to depart and bid him goodbye that Angeal realized how long they were texting; the clock showing that it was five.

For a moment, he marveled at the fact that he conversed with a complete stranger for three hours without noticing, almost as if he did it all the time. It was then that he broke into a long yawn, and he chuckled amusedly at the fact that he was finally feeling sleepy.

Good thing it was the weekend.

* * *

Out of nagging curiosity, Angeal sent a text to Cloud asking about how he was doing in Junon three days later, and Cloud, apparently shocked at the fact that he sent him a text again, replied that Junon was treating him rather well.

From then on, without any further prompting, the two of them fell into the routine of frequently texting each other.

With three months after their first exchange passing, Angeal learned a lot about his new friend and vice versa. He learned that his full name was Cloud Strife, that he was from Nibelheim, a small town in the middle of nowhere. He joined ShinRa in hopes of making it into SOLDIER - which he didn't, but he told Angeal that he stopped being bitter and sad about it - and was now in the infantry division. Angeal also learned that Cloud didn't have many friends, just him and another SOLDIER whose name he still didn't manage to catch.

In exchange, Angeal told him that he was from Banora, that he was a 1st class SOLDIER and about his ideals and way of life. He told him that he had three friends and that they could be very tiring to deal with sometimes. Cloud took it all in surprisingly well and treated him just the same - even when he recognized him as Angeal Hewley, one of the three legendary Firsts, or so ShinRa's publicists liked to call them. It proved that he made the right decision in befriending Cloud.

They still didn't meet in person nor did he know what Cloud looked like - Cloud's PHS camera was sadly broken, so he had to wait for him to fix it, had to settle for his pen-pal to have a face to connect to his texts while Angeal wasn't able to do the same.

It would've been an easy fact to deal with if it weren't for his undeniable curiosity - what would Cloud look like when he received his texts? Would he smile at them the way Angeal did with his?

He realized - at the far reaches of his mind - that this wasn't what one should feel about a simple pen-pal, or even a friend for the matter, but he couldn't help feel this way. Despite their different experiences and ranks in ShinRa, they got along so well, he had to remind himself that they only knew about each other for months and not for years.

It didn't help that Cloud was a very nice and charming person, once one got behind his insecurity and awkwardness - it took weeks before Cloud initiated a conversation, and it honestly used to worry Angeal, fearing that he was forcing the other to talk to him before he learned the truth.

Currently, they were talking about gardening, or at least, Angeal was while Cloud paid attention, somehow genuinely interested. "It's not the best environment for gardening in Nibelheim," he said when asked.

Still, Angeal felt that he expanded a little too widely about the topic.

_**CODE-013AH:** i'm boring you, aren't i? sorry, sometimes i get carried away talking about the things i like._

_**CODE-279CS:** you don't have to apologize. i'm a little surprised though._

Angeal raised an eyebrow, wondering what surprised the other.

_**CODE-279CS:** you didn't strike me as a gardening type of a guy. i guess underneath the tough soldier, you're a big softy, huh?_

He didn't have a reply to that.

"Are you, by any chance, blushing?" Genesis asked, trying to look at his PHS to see what got that reaction out of him.

* * *

When Cloud finally fixed his PHS's camera, he sent him a picture.

_**CODE-279CS:** it's not the most flattering one. i mean, me and my friend just finished a mission together and he insisted to take picture of us._

And there it was, a picture of two young men covered in some monster's remains, the SOLDIER - that Angeal recognized as Zack Fair, his protege and friend - grinning cheerfully, his arm wrapped around a softly smiling infantryman's - who must've been Cloud - shoulders.

When he asked Zack about it, he simply asked in return, "Wait, you're that guy Cloud's been texting? The one that gets him to beam like it's Pancake Sunday all year?"

As a result, Zack was happy because his buddy turned out to know his other buddy. Cloud was surprised to know that he knew Zack and that he was his mentor. "He never got the chance to mention you by name."

It was a pleasant surprise, really, in all sorts of ways. The mutual friendship they had with Zack and finally knowing what the other looked like. And while he imagined Cloud to look differently, the reality proved to be far, _far_ better.

"You _are_ blushing," Sephiroth observed, all while Genesis smirked smugly.

* * *

He was assigned to a mission in, of all the places it could've been, Junon; something about testing the newest set of submarines. Nonetheless, after playing hard to get for a bit - Genesis, Sephiroth and Zack weren't fooled - he accepted it.

He expected to stumble upon Cloud sometime along the way, but he couldn't imagine their meeting to be _this_ soon.

A light tap on the shoulder and Angeal turned around, only to be met with Cloud's smiling face, the same smile as the one in the picture, his blue - so _blue_, so bright even without Mako - eyes warm as he saluted almost playfully. "Welcome to Junon, Sir."

Upon finally meeting his pen-pal in person, one that he discussed and exchanged many topics and stories with, Angeal couldn't help but to smile back as Cloud asked if he would join him for dinner.

"I found a diner that makes that pie you like. Dumbapple pie, right?"

He nodded, letting Cloud lead the way.

* * *

"You think it's his girlfriend again?" a 3rd class asked another, seeing the usually stern Angeal smiling upon receiving a text.

"It's his boyfriend, actually," 1st classes Sephiroth and Genesis - who were assigned to evaluate this training session - corrected, almost giving the 3rd classes a heart-attack.

"If you think this is bad, just wait until he receives a phone-call," Zack Fair, a 2nd class who was here for reasons unknown, added cheerfully.

Unfortunately for them, Angeal chose that moment to stop texting and heard them gossiping, kicking them out as result.


End file.
